Sanofi-Aventis enters China’s OTC market
Sanofi-Aventis has signed a joint venture agreement with Minsheng Pharmaceutical Group of Hangzhou to exploit the country’s booming OTC vitamin and mineral market.
China’s OTC market is predicted to become the world's second largest OTC market in 2010, according to Olivier Charmeil, Sanofi-Aventis' senior vice president for pharmaceutical operations in Asia/Pacific and Japan. The JV is in-keeping with the pharma giant’s plan to establish joint ventures rather than create R&D facilities in China.
The move marks Sanofi-Aventis entrance into China's OTC market, currently valued around $10.3 billion, and projected to experience double-digit growth over the next five years.
